Malaysia to build business, tourism gateway to Thailand

Malaysia is planning to set up a tourism and business hub close to its northern border to Thailand to attract more Thai tourists and businesses in the region and create jobs for locals.

The new development will be located in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, which is opposite the Sadao checkpoint, the primary land link between the two countries at Ban Dan Nok in Sadao district of Songkhla province and the northern Malaysian state.

The existing duty-free center will be enlarged and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority of Malaysia plans to add “more attractions” to the 2.83 square kilometer area.

There are also plans to build a business and logistics center which would import products and materials from Thailand to produce halal foods certified by Malaysia to sell to Malaysian consumers and export to other countries. It would also distribute Thai and local products to the domestic market and sell Malaysian products to Thailand.

Thailand had long planned to set up a halal production center on its own in the southern region, but the insurgency in the area is spoiling the atmosphere for investors.

At the moment, more Malaysian tourists travel to Thailand through the southern border than otherwise. In 2012, 2.5 million visitors from Malaysia traveled to Thailand, a 2.17 per cent rise year-on-year, according to the Thai Tourism Authority. But only 1.26 million Thais went in the other direction, a 12.4 per cent drop, according to Tourism Malaysia.

Most Malaysians visited Thailand through the Sadao checkpoint to Hat Yai city in Songkhla. The border town of Ban Dan Nok has a number of nightlife entertainment venues and shops specifically designed to attract Malaysians.

Malaysia is planning to set up a tourism and business hub close to its northern border to Thailand to attract more Thai tourists and businesses in the region and create jobs for locals.

The new development will be located in Bukit Kayu Hitam, Kedah, which is opposite the Sadao checkpoint, the primary land link between the two countries at Ban Dan Nok in Sadao district of Songkhla province and the northern Malaysian state.

The existing duty-free center will be enlarged and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority of Malaysia plans to add “more attractions” to the 2.83 square kilometer area.

There are also plans to build a business and logistics center which would import products and materials from Thailand to produce halal foods certified by Malaysia to sell to Malaysian consumers and export to other countries. It would also distribute Thai and local products to the domestic market and sell Malaysian products to Thailand.

Thailand had long planned to set up a halal production center on its own in the southern region, but the insurgency in the area is spoiling the atmosphere for investors.

At the moment, more Malaysian tourists travel to Thailand through the southern border than otherwise. In 2012, 2.5 million visitors from Malaysia traveled to Thailand, a 2.17 per cent rise year-on-year, according to the Thai Tourism Authority. But only 1.26 million Thais went in the other direction, a 12.4 per cent drop, according to Tourism Malaysia.

Most Malaysians visited Thailand through the Sadao checkpoint to Hat Yai city in Songkhla. The border town of Ban Dan Nok has a number of nightlife entertainment venues and shops specifically designed to attract Malaysians.